Phantom's Rising
by Cry-Pom
Summary: The Ghost Zone's in chaos, Maddie and Jazz are panicked, Dani's lost, and Tucker and Sam just want to find their friend. The Fluitloop is scheming and Danny's enemies are plotting. Everything is coming to a head; and all Danny had wanted was a quiet Death Day. Who knows what's going on? Well, Clockwork of course! R&R
1. The Beginning

Phantom's Rise

**Edited: 11/15**

**I don't own Danny Phantom, if I did Phantom Planet wouldn't have happened, the show wouldn't have ended, and Dani would have been in it more. **

**Oh, in this fic Phantom Planet never happened. D-stabilized did however.**

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Prologue

The cool wind caused the window shutters on a certain brick home to rattle. The large silver moon hung high in the sky framed by wispy clouds. The cool early spring night was peaceful; for once the silence wasn't broken by ecto-blasts or monologues.

The only sounds to be heard were the whispering's of the breeze and the tickings' of a young boy's clock. Our young hero – the center of this story – was currently sleeping away. He had taken advantage of this peaceful night to get caught up on his much needed sleep; since he spent most nights hunting down stray and havoc causing ghosts.

However, the peace wasn't the only reason that tonight was a special night for the young halfa. Because even though he didn't know it yet, everything was about to change.

Far away from the slumbering teen – in another world altogether – an ancient spirit sighed. For up in his tower, upon his screens, he had seen what was to come. He disliked how it was going to play out, but he knew that the end result would be worth the struggle. He knew the next few months would be hard for the young halfa; but then, he knew everything.


	2. The Third

Phantom's Rise

**Yeah, I rewrote this chapter (and chapter 1) again…eh, sue me.**

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**I do not own DP. Clockwork can support my claim, so leave me alone. **

**Ok people, I'm twisting the Dp timeline just slightly, I'm having it so that Reign Storm took place a year after Danny got his powers, and the rest of season 2 and 3 happened within a year.**

* * *

Danny's day had been going extremely well so far. There hadn't been any ghost attacks, Lancer hadn't given him detention, Dash had been ignoring him, Sam and Tucker weren't fighting about their dietary preferences, and he had managed to get through breakfast that morning without one of his parents' inventions going off. The sun was the only thing in the sky and a warm breeze had loosened the autumn chill. No one had insulted him, and he had actually managed to get a full night's sleep the previous evening.

It had been a very, very good day so far. That made Danny extremely nervous.

No matter how hard he tried Danny couldn't shake the ball of dread and unease in his gut. A good day was just so weird for him. So, naturally, he had felt like he was walking on a tightrope all day, just waiting for the fall; and he had never enjoyed free falling.

He was upset and yet relieved that Sam and Tucker hadn't noticed his unease. It kept his friends from worrying, something he always tried to avoid. Thankfully, he had become a rather excellent actor in the two years – exactly – that he's had his ghostly half.

But it wasn't just today that had him on edge. Things were just going too well recently. His parents weren't focused on hunting Phantom at the moment – they were too focused on creating a new weapon. Vlad wasn't tormenting him, Valerie seemed to be taking a leave of absence from the Hunting world, and Skulker hadn't tried to obtain his pelt in over a week.

Actually, in the past few days only the Box Ghost had made an appearance. Though even his visits were at brief intervals and he left under his own power. If anything screamed that something was wrong, it was that.

All of these things made him nervous and worried. They had been for days. But today…today was just the cherry on top of the pile of "SOMETHING IS WRONG" signs. Today was the reason why his shields were up the highest. Today was the reason he was waiting for the other shoe to finally drop.

For today was his Death Day – his third to be specific – and nothing good had ever happened on his Death Day.

Well, to be honest it wasn't _really_ his Death Day since he had only half died in the accident two years ago. Or at least, he didn't think it was. It wasn't really something he ever considered asking another ghost. But Sam had given the anniversary of the accent that name last year, and everyone knew not to argue with Sam.

Moving his thoughts away from Sam – or he might end up on a path he was desperately avoiding – Danny started a mental list of everything negative that had happened on his Death Days. He tallied everything up as Lancer droned on and on about some ancient literary piece that he didn't care about.

First Death Day: the Portal Accident, the day he technically died, or should've.

He had not only managed to actually create a tear in the very fabric of space, but he had ended up half dead because of it. Sure, he had brought his parents dreams to life but now his town was constantly pledged by ghosts and he spent most of his waking hours battling them off. The portal activation had also given his parents a reason to hunt him, and marked the decline in his grades. In his human everyday life, everything became practically impossible. In his ghostly life, everything was a fight.

Basically, he became an abnormality that didn't truly fit anywhere: Half Ghost, Half Dead, a Halfa. Something that shouldn't exist.

Second Death Day: Vlad – being the psycho fruitloop that he is – let the evil Ghost King Pariah Dark out of his coffin. Of course, Vlad also being Vlad, had let the responsibility of throwing him back into his prison fall to him. That of course had led to the town being kidnapped, him almost dying, a temporary alliance with his enemies, the revelation of Val's secret to her father, and his family almost finding out about his dual identity.

Yeah, he still wanted to kick Vlad's butt for that, hard.

Now one year later, it was his Third Death Day, and while everything _seemed_ to be going wonderfully, he knew better. Everything had been building up to something recently, and he knew that it was going to go down today.

Because nothing good ever happens on his Death Day.

* * *

Danny was startled out of his thoughts as the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. With a sigh, he grabbed his books off of his desk and walked into the hall. He sensed Sam and Tucker following, but didn't pay them any mind. They were babbling on about some project that Lancer had assigned; one that he would probably fail due to his nightly activities.

"Mr. Fenton!" Danny cringed as said teacher called out to him. He turned to see Mr. Lancer only a few feet behind the trio. He looked rather irritated, but then the teacher always did.

Sam and Tucker shared a look before continuing on down the hall as Lancer gave them a stern glance. They have Danny uneasy shrugs before wandering away without a protest. They obviously didn't want to be caught up in whatever trouble Danny was in now.

Lancer took another step forwards and seemed to be eyeing him in contemplation. Danny waited silently in the emptying halls for the heavyset teacher to speak, wondering what he had done to deserve his teacher's ire now.

"Mr. Fenton." Lance finally said, breaking the pregnant awkward silence. "I noticed your absent attention during class so I thought it best to explain your only hope of passing this year."

He winced. Because of all of the ghostly activity this year his grades had fallen to an all-time low. Sure, they had been bad for the past few years since the accident, but with Valerie MIA recently and his parents distracted, he was left to pick up the slack. Or he had been, until this worryingly calm wave had rolled in.

"Now," Lancer continued and Danny pulled himself back together. "I understand that by some miracle you've managed to scrape by these past few years. However," Lancer held up his hand like he was expecting me to protest.

But why would Danny protest? It was true, and the halfa knew this. He had only managed thus far by sheer luck and some sort of miracle.

"That will not continue this semester. The project that will be due in my class at the end of the quarter will not only heavily impact your already failing grade, but it shall also determine whether or not you continue into your senior year with the rest of your peers. It's a mandatory project; one, Mr. Fenton that you can't afford to miss."

Danny just blinked as he took in the information. Lancer might've taken it as a lazy and uncaring gesture, but he was only partially right. He was listening, but he couldn't bring himself to be overly concerned. Sure, he wanted to graduate, but he had larger things on his mind.

Shoving his thoughts away, Danny locked eyes with Lancer and asked, "What's the assignment?"

He kept his words simple because he didn't feel like talking. Today was the anniversary of the day everything changed. Nothing else really mattered at the moment, besides the ball of dread. Danny was just floating through the day, not fully aware of it.

Lancer narrowed his eyes, perhaps sensing the lack of response his speech had stirred. He sighed and continued, "You must write a ten page essay reflecting upon and describing in detail the most impactful moment of your high school life thus far.

"This isn't to be the moment where you first saw your crush, or had your first kiss. I want to read nothing on such insignificant matters. The assignment is to find a life changing moment, a moment that altered you in some way. Whether it was your view on the world, you physically or emotionally, it doesn't matter.

"But you must dig deep to discover such a moment, and truly connect to yourself to understand why it changed you so."

Lancer gazed down at Danny once again, as if doubting that the young half ghost was listening, which he was. The paper was practically designed for him. It struck a chord.

At Lancer's accusing eyes, Danny's blue gaze became a beam of ice as he suddenly got defensive. In a voice just as cold as his core he asked, "What if there isn't one?"

This was of course, a large lie. Probably one of the largest he had actually said to Lancer's face. Many things had happened to the young ghost in his high school career that had changed him. In fact, there were too many events and moments to fit on ten pages. He had grown and changed a lot in the past few years, even if his grades didn't reflect that growth.

Not that he was planning on sharing any of those moments with his teacher.

Lancer studied him for a second before sighing again. "I expect that _something _significant has happened to you, Mr. Fenton, in the course of three years."

With that Lancer turned on his heel and stalked back to his classroom. Danny rolled his eyes and after dropped his stuff off at his locker he made his way to the cafeteria. He grabbed his semi-edible lunch and plopped down next to Sam and Tucker at their table. He wasn't surprised to hear that the two were still talking about the assignment from Lancer.

"I mean, tons of stuff has happened, but it's not exactly something we can tell Lancer…." Tucker continued, echoing Danny's thoughts from earlier as the half ghost began to zone out again.

"Sure, we can't give exact details, but with everything that has gone in this town over the past few years we can come up with something that Lancer will see as life changing." Sam rebuked waving a fork of veggies at the boy.

Tucker glared before munching on his hamburger. Thankfully, they had both came to an agreement about their dietary needs a few months ago. Though they still fought over which one was better every once in a while, they were much less frequent.

Danny mentally rolled his eyes at his two friends before letting himself be fully carried off in his thoughts. He wasn't exactly hungry, as the strange pit in his stomach made it hard to swallow. He just wished that whatever was going to happen would happen already, he really wasn't good with suspense.

He paused, and glanced around hoping that the universe would decide now was the moment for everything to come to a head.

Sadly, it didn't.

Nothing was wrong. His classmates were laughing and eating away. The new freshmen were trying to impress the popular seniors and other upperclassmen. Not that they were doing anything besides angering the older teens. Freshmen were annoying.

His attention latched onto the other teens in the room. His mind eagerly diving into a distraction that wasn't his inner monologue.

As Danny looked around the room at the social cliques and the freshman-senior drama, he had never so happy that he was at the bottom of the social ladder. Ok, it came in handy to remain unnoticed and for keeping his secret, but still. He couldn't believe how many freshmen were trying to gain favor with the seniors and other more popular juniors.

He had never been that kid, kissing up to the upper years; and he dreaded the day when some random freshman walked up to him trying to be impressive. Not that he thought it would ever happen, he remained at the bottom of the high school ladder for a reason. Sure, people no longer thought that his parents were crazy, but they were still eccentric. Being their son was a double edged sword in Casper High.

Everyone knew that his parents were the jumpsuit clad ghost hunters. He was teased about it when no ghosts were around, and then expected to know things when ghosts attacked. Not that he was usually around for questions or expectations when ghosts attacked. He was too busy fighting them off as Phantom. Which also came to bite him in the butt when everyone teased him for being scared of ghosts when his parents hunted them.

Not that he really cared what other people said. They unintentionally created a better facade than he ever could. It really helped keeping Phantom and Fenton separate.

Who knew that annoying teenagers, idiotic reputations and social ladders could actually come in handy?

* * *

No matter how hard Danny wished, nothing ghost related happened at lunch. The day stayed just as abnormally normal as it had that morning. Which didn't help his churning unease at all.

He was the first one out of the cafeteria when the bell rang, barely managing to avoid the majority of the flood as he made his way to his locker. He waited quietly, keeping an eye out for Tucker or Sam as he waited for the halls to clear. Everyone shuffled off to their next class, and finally just as the bell rung, his two friends appeared.

Sam looked worried, was the first thing that Danny noticed. Sure, he hadn't exactly been talking to them today but neither of them had actually noticed either. Maybe the two had finally paused long enough in their little world to see that something was up?

Maybe they had finally remembered what today was.

You'd think his friends would remember the day he half-died.

"Danny!"

He gave the two a large smile, and watched as the two shared a rather puzzled look. Although Sam and Tucker could see through his act better than anyone – besides Clockwork – he fooled even them sometimes. Danny sure if that was a good thing or not, that he was that used to hiding everything from the world that even his friends sometimes couldn't tell if something was wrong.

If Danny took a moment to be honest with himself – which he did as the two dashed towards him – beneath the ball of worry and dread, he was slightly irritated with his friends. They had been there the day of the accident. They knew the significance of the date. So why had they forgotten?

By the time Sam and Tucker slid to a stop beside him, Tucker was panting lightly. Sam, casting a glance over at the techno-nerd, rolled her eyes before pinning Danny with a narrowed eyed look.

"Alright, Danny spill." Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight onto her left leg. "You've been quite today, even for you."

Danny just shrugged. He didn't feel like interacting with the world today. Something was just _wrong _and besides, it was his Deathday. He was allowed to act however he wanted today.

"Dude, what's up? You've been all mopey and depressing all day. I mean, more than usual." Tucker asked once he had caught his breath, causing Sam to smack him on the back of his head.

"What's wrong?" Sam's voice was soft, and her eyebrows furrowed. Danny had to look away to avoid thinking about how cute she looked like that. He wasn't going there. Nope.

"Seriously Danny, what's up? Did something happen that you aren't telling us? Because it's a great day! There's been no ghost attacks, no tests, Dash is avoiding you, your parents aren't chasing you, and the Guys in White haven't tried anything for ages…" Sam trailed off as Danny's eyebrow twitched just lightly as his irritation was finally betrayed.

Why didn't they think it was weird that things were going so well!? Why didn't they remember what today was? Did the universe just want him to say it out loud or something!?

"Two years." Danny sighed, looking up at his two taller friends. But that was all he said. So much had happened in the past two years. So many things had changed, and yet…so much was still the same.

Sam and Tucker shared a confused look, and Danny let his thoughts wander. His best friends had grown a lot, both physically and mentally, in the past two years since he stepped into that portal.

Sam was still as gothic as ever – Danny doubted that that part of her would ever change – but had noticeably grown into a stunning young woman. With her black steel-toed combat boots, black skinny jeans, purple studded belt, black tshirt adorned with purple flames, and grey messenger bag, it was obvious her favorite colors hadn't changed.

Her hair was still styled as a bob, though the small pony-tail had been abandoned a few months ago. Last week, while her parents were out of town, Sam and her grandmother had gotten together and dyed the ends of Sam's hair purple, matching her heavily lined eyes. Her taste in makeup hadn't changed a bit, and she had even grown a few inches since the accident.

At a good height of five foot six, she had finally grown past Danny's stature of five foot five. Her confidence had only improved with ghost hunting, and she proudly resembled the strong seventeen year old that she was.

Much to Danny's dismay, Tucker had also grown and towered over both of them at about five foot eleven. His signature beret still adorned his head, and his cargo pants hadn't changed – he loved all the pockets too much – but he had traded in his yellow turtleneck for a yellow zip-up jacket over a black tshirt. Sam had also managed to get the tech loving boy into a pair of black combat boots, it helped that they had a few hidden specialties – which the two of them weren't speaking about.

Although Tucker still had his trusty PDA, he had personalized it to the extreme. The device was not only ghost proof now, but also looked more like a heavy duty tablet than anything else. His technological prowess had only grown, and there was no system on earth or the Zone that could keep him out. Not that they had ever really stopped him before.

"Two years?" Tucker echoed, and Danny barely heard his friend's voice.

"Going on three." Danny commented, his eyes drifting to the clock on the opposite side of the hall. He was slightly surprised that he was actually talking.

He hadn't felt like talking all day.

Compared to his friends, Danny hadn't changed much at all. He hadn't really grown. He wasn't any taller, his voice wasn't any deeper, and he definitely hadn't gained any weight. He was still the scrawny little teen he had been when he got his powers.

Sure, he had gained a few lean muscles since then, and plenty of scars, but you really wouldn't be able to tell the current Danny from the pre-accident him Danny unless you looked really closely. The bags under his eyes would be the first tip off that time had passed; and the look in his eyes. Jazz always said that he had old eyes now.

He wasn't sure if it had something to do with his ghost half, but because of his lack of physical change, he had made sure to change his appearance. He had to keep up the charade that time was still passing, even if he wasn't sure it was.

His baggy, light blue jeans had been replaced by simple dark blue ones, made out of more sturdy material, about a year ago. After realizing that blood and ectoplasm was a pain to remove from white – and add in all of the new scars on his arms – his white and red tshirt was tossed aside for a black, long sleeve tee with neon green accents. His red tennis shoes were now black, and after a lot of effort he had managed to grown out his hair just a bit, so that the ends brushed against the top of his ears. Though his bangs had stubbornly remained the same length, he realized that he didn't mind.

At Clockwork's, Frostbite's and Sam's instance, his ghost half had gotten a slight makeover as well. Frostbite and Sam both argued that hazmat suits and subzero temperatures don't mix very well. He hadn't listened at first; being overly attached to the suit he had technically died in. But after wandering into Clockwork's tower only to find himself being thrown into a seemingly endless closet by the Ghost of Time himself, he gave in to their demands.

Phantom now wore black combat boots, silver pants with black seams, silver fingerless gloves, and a black hoodie adorned with his logo in a bright white on the front. He also had a thick white belt whose buckle was the DP logo with a clip for the thermos as well as a few other gadgets.

He hadn't been overly happy at first, but Clockwork's knowing smile and dismissal wave caused Danny to stifle all of his protests. If there was one person he trusted to know best, it was his ghostly guardian. Having the master of time looking out for you was a nice perk in his never ending half-life.

In the end, Danny had come to like Phantom's outfit change. It wasn't as form fitting so he didn't feel like he was Paulina's eye-candy every time he fought around the school. It helped that Sam had really liked it.

Strange enough, no one questioned Phantom's outfit changed. He had even dared to mention it to his parents, but his Dad had just mumbled something about "ectoplasmic scum" before eating fudge. Jazz had been the one to point out that unless it became an issue, it wasn't worth worrying over.

Danny had really become grateful to have Jazz as his sister, especially after the Dark Dan incident. She'd been a major support for the halfa, and pretty much the only reason he had passed sophomore year. He missed her, but she had her own life to live. Before going off to college a few states away, Jazz had told Danny not to let his halfa status rule his life.

He hadn't really figured out how to do that yet, and wasn't sure if he ever world.

"_How could I, anyway?" _Danny asked himself, blinking slowly as he seemed to return to himself. _"I'm stuck between the Ghost Zone and the Human World. I don't completely belong in either… and almost everything is a constant reminder of that fact." _

He wasn't always in such a funk. But today was a special day, so he was allowed to brood. Besides, the ball of worry in his gut allowed for little else.

Danny refocused completely right as Sam opened her mouth. The bell rang, interrupting her before she could even start. Shrugging his backpack back onto his shoulder, Danny turned and walked away.

"Danny!" Sam managed to call, but Danny just glanced back. His cool, empty blue eyes connected with her worried amethyst ones, and she almost cringed.

"Are you really going to make me say it? Two years ago today, Sammy. You're a smart girl, it'll come to you." With that, the half human half ghost hybrid walked away, heading towards his next class and leaving his friends to their thoughts.

He really didn't like his Deathday.

* * *

It came to Sam almost instantly, and she cursed as her eyes widened. Her fists clenched at her sides and before she knew what she was doing, she slammed her fist into the nearest locker.

"Damn!" She exclaimed angrily, trying to fight down the guilt and shame that flooded her veins.

"_How on earth could we've forgotten!?" _She raged to herself, as Tucker jumped back and looked at her in shock.

"Sam!?" He asked hesitantly, not used to his female friend acting out like that.

"The date Tucker. What's today's date?" Same choked out as she forced her eyes closed, fighting back tears. What kind of friends were they? They had forgotten Danny's Deathday!

"_And I'm the one responsible for it in the first place…" _She thought to herself bitterly. She was such an awful friend!

"March 3rd*," Tucker said slowly, his eyebrows knit together in confusion as he pulled up the date on his PDA-turned-tablet. "But, what does…"

The boy suddenly froze as he looked down at the calendar event set for the day. How on earth had he forgotten!?

"Danny's Deathday." He breathed in shock and horror, turning to look at same with a look of completely and utter shame.

Sam barely managed to nod, "And after everything… we totally forgot about it."

A small part of Sam whispered that it wasn't their fault. They rarely kept track of the days anyway and Danny always hated talking about the anniversary, so they never brought it up. But she knew that it was just an excuse.

"Crap." Tucker muttered, closing his eyes. "We messed up big time."

"Yeah…" Sam trailed off, before she straightened her back and raised her head up high. "But that just means we have to make it up to him!"

"MANSON, FOLEY, DETENTION AFTER SCHOOL!" A teacher's voice rang down the hall and the two friends jumped and then stared at each other in surprise.

"Darn it." They said together.

Now how were they supposed to make it up to Danny?

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**Hey, I hope that you all enjoyed it and if Danny's a bit OC I'm sorry, but that's just the way it came out.**

***Ok, so according to a reviewer the show aired on April 3 and Mistery Meat said that it had been a month. So, with Darkangeloflove15 's help I have decided that March 3rd is when Danny first entered the portal.**

**R&amp;R  
Cp**


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